 JULY 23 • 2020 | 31

and drums) and his wife, Yeva 
Lapsker (videography), with 
Sveta Kundish (vocals) and 
Patrick Farrell (accordion and 
sound). After the initial film-
ing, instrumental accompani-
ment was added by Christian 
Dawid (tuba, saxophone, 
clarinet) and Vivien Zeller 
(violin).
The setting for the video, 
a deserted farmhouse, was 
scouted by Lapsker, who built 
a dance career before working 
more closely with Kahn and 
his musical projects.
“We got the historical foot-
age from available archives — 
online and free to use,
” Kahn 
said. “My wife and I looked 
through dozens and dozens 
of [film clips to find] imagery 
that was fitting. Among the 
topics addressed specifically 
are influenza, polio, industrial 
exploitation and the scourge 
of war.
”
Kahn points out that the 
song also addresses leader-
ship problems in tackling the 
issues: 
“Great, deep graves are 
packed with corpses
And the masters, the emper-
ors, play their chess.
”
Kahn, 41, whose core career 
commitment is the klezmer 
band Daniel Kahn & the 
Painted Bird, can look back 
on a professional highlight 
two years ago. He played the 
romantic interest in the first 
Yiddish production of Fiddler 
on the Roof, staged in New 
York under the direction of 
Joel Grey.
Kahn started acting when 
he was 12 as he appeared in 
plays presented by the Jewish 
Ensemble Theatre (JET), then 
in West Bloomfield. After 
studying theater and writing 
at the University of Michigan, 
he connected with Yiddish 

songs, started learning them 
and studied the language at 
the YIVO Institute for Jewish 
Research in New York.
As his video plays across the 
web, Kahn is living in quaran-
tine with his wife, 9-month-
old son and another couple. 
While formal concert dates 
are being scheduled for 2021, 
he gradually is arranging for 
some social distancing con-
certs near his home in Berlin. 
“Things are opening up 
slowly for performers, but it’
s 
a very difficult new reality 
we’
re dealing with,
” he said. 
“Just days ago, I played the 
first public gig I had played in 
many, many months. It was 
outdoors in a churchyard in 
a small village for 40 or 50 
people sitting on benches at a 
distance from each other.
”
Although Kahn has some 
other small shows coming 
up, he keeps in mind that 
Germany is being very cau-
tious in its opening process 
based on infection rates. If 
there are population segments 
with increasing cases, areas 
are shut down again.
Kahn explains that 
Germans wear masks without 
any of the political opposition 
as experienced in the United 
States.
“
A mask, like a song, is 
a fairly simple object that 
doesn’
t ever get old,
” he said. 
“[Yiddish] songs function 
in the same way that these 
masks do. They are ways of 
creating a public space so 
people can interact and relate 
to each other and share ideas 
and thoughts. That’
s a useful 
thing.
” 

Daniel Kahn’
s new video is available 

by Googling “Mentshn-Fresser” 

(1916 Pandemic Ballad featuring 

Sveta Kundish and Daniel Kahn).

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